


time, curious time.

by Dearemma



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Daniel Sousa meets Skye with no last name, Discussion of Toys, F/M, Post-Episode: s07e09 As I Have Always Been, also he is very in love with daisy, and daniel is rolling with it, and honestly... the universe doesn't explode but his heart melts, anyways i wanted this to be written so badly that i wrote it, but like... we deserved this if they had given us a full season, cutesy fic that also made me quite sad, everyone on this team is a little shit, it's disgusting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2020-11-08
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:34:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,713
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27337246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dearemma/pseuds/Dearemma
Summary: “I believe this is around the time Coulson is kidnapped by Raina.” May remarked, walking towards the window.“Just a few days before!” comes the much chipper reply from Simmons.-What if they had to cross paths with their past selves during their time travel adventures? What if Daniel got the chance to meet a much younger Daisy, one who doesn't even know she is Daisy yet?
Relationships: Skye | Daisy Johnson/Daniel Sousa
Comments: 90
Kudos: 215





	1. all along there was some

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so. A few months ago I went: Skye and Daniel. And that's as far as my brain went, but it kept tugging at my mind. So, I finally wrote a little AU.  
> So -- this is set after 7x09 and goes canon divergent after that. The team continues jumping (Jiaying and Kora's whole plotline is pushed to the side) and Daniel and Daisy grow closer. She tells him about the time loop kiss and they start dating. Nothing big has happened, no big Chronicom or Malick activity, the team is just floating through time.

  
  


The ship rumbled underneath his feet, groaning as it was driven across the time stream. The last jumps had been hard on the time machine, rough landings and chronicom blasters had dinged up the drive once more. But there wasn’t time to fix it (and wasn’t that ironic). The chronicoms were jumping quicker now, they were constantly playing catch up. 

1987, 1989, 1992, 1995, 1997, 2005. 

There was little predictability in their line of work. There were weeks where sleep was an illusion, cat naps in chairs all they could afford. Or, sometimes, things could work out like they had in 1997. Three long weeks where they spent most of their time fixing the ship and exploring the city. Everything about future SHIELD and their time exploits confused him, as much as he tried to pretend like he was unfazed by the changes, there wasn’t steady ground for him to stand on --  _ literally _ .

Daniel actually found himself enjoying 1997, getting the chance to learn a little more about the customs and culture of the future (though he was told not to pay attention to the fashion -- everyone shuddered and said it was a dark time). Mostly, it was nice to walk around with the team, all of them pitching in theories about what the chronicoms next move would be and getting to know each other a little better.

And well...

It didn’t hurt that Mack had encouraged him to take out Daisy on a proper date.

After spending weeks stealing kisses and talking silently in Daisy’s room (with the door open of course!), he couldn’t deny how much he enjoyed this slice of normalcy in their relationship. 

And sure, the date was nothing like the ones from the past. For one, he had no money and no way to pay for the date, it was Daisy who handed the waiter the money. Technically SHIELD paid for their date (which was another can of worms). There was no picking her up at her house, no flowers he could give her. And yet, it was the best first date he had ever been in.

It helped to already be half in love with the person you are taking out, but he knew it had nothing to do with how well they knew each other, and everything with the person standing on the other side of the table. There was never a boring moment with Daisy around; there were no awkward pauses, conversation never stilled and he felt completely at ease. He held her hand as they talked and shared a large piece of chocolate cake.

Daisy also attempted to initiate something called footsie with him, but his lack of a reaction as her foot caressed his leg made her huff and stop.

The lack of a reaction was only contained to his face.

From the second he met her outside of the ship, things fell into place;

Wearing her usual dark clothing, casually leaning against the door, she looked dangerous and untouchable. Insecurity stirred in his stomach. The prosthetic Jemma gave him had done wonders for him not to feel a burden on the team, but it wasn’t a magical fix. He stumbled more in the first few hours with the new leg than he did in the past two years.  _ No girl’s gonna trade in a red and white blue shield for an aluminum crutch. _ The prosthetic resembled a real leg too much, it was disconcerting to stare at it but not fully feel it. 

It wasn’t just Peggy, he had an endless list of dates that didn’t move forward because he could either feel them staring at him with pity, or, even worse, disgust.

Daisy was brimming with power, she would make some of his army buddies look weak in the gym, she was the power center of her universe.

And no one could deny it -- she was breathtakingly beautiful. 

She turned and saw him staring. He held his breath, expecting something -- something bad --, but instead she smiled at him, the full force of her beauty, hitting him at once. 

“Looking good for an old man.” she teased as he walked down the stairs, hands resting on his shirt for a second, in the guise of adjusting it (as if he would have walked out to meet her looking rumpled!). “Where’re you taking me?”

“You’ll have to wait and see.” ignoring her pout, he offered her his arm, delighting in her laugh and teases about him being a square. It was a sweet sound, not fully fitting the cool persona she showed everyone, but matching perfectly the glimpses of the personality he was slowly discovering. “It’s only  _ proper _ .” he said with a blank face, lips twitching to hide his smile. 

It felt nice.

To be able to smile easily again. 

The world might be ending, and they might be chasing (or were they the ones being chased? It was unclear) space robots through time. But Daisy Johnson liked holding his hand, listened to his stories with excited eyes and for the first time in years he felt like he was part of a team that really respected him.

A guy could get used to this.

Daniel took her to a nice restaurant, recommended by Coulson who spent a lot of time in New York during the nineties. They leisurely walked back to the ship, stopping by Times Square where Daisy tried snapping a picture with every weirdly dressed person and made fun of him when he complained about the glaring lights.

The plan had been to kiss her outside of her door and head back to his bunk, a proper goodnight kiss, shorter and slower than the ones they had been sharing for weeks already. What he hadn’t considered, was that Daisy wasn’t going to be satisfied with just that. Lacing her fingers through his suspenders, she tugged him inside of the room to do things that would have caused a scandal in the fifties.

The future? He was a fan of it.

  
  


The engine sputtered loudly, the characteristic white light blanketing the ship for a second blinding him. 2005, he can’t say he is going to miss it. The fashion was questionable and he almost got shot. 

As was custom, the team converged in the control room. Stopping behind Daisy, his hand rested across her back for a second, her eyes softening for a second as they breathed each other in, before they shifted back to mission mode.

“So, when are we?” Mack asked once they were all there. 

“Umm, 2013. 8th of December, 2013 to be exact. Which is very very bad. We are closer to our own timeline than ever, we are already on the Bus with the original team… It’s going to be --  _ wait, that’s excellent!  _ I know exactly where we are!” Simmons’s mood shifted mid-sentence, whatever trepidation she had was replaced by an eager smile. She bounced around the room, grabbing one of the tablets, murmuring something about old files. 

“I believe this is around the time Coulson is kidnapped by Raina.” May remarked, walking towards the window.

“Just a few days before!” comes the much chipper reply from Simmons.

The closer they got to their time, the farther they got from the world Daniel knew. Once he got out of this ship, he would need to acclimate once again to a brand new world. Things were barely recognizable in 2005, he just hoped he would get to stay inside this time, he could use a breather. 

“To be frank, the Zephyr is barely hanging on. Me and Deke are doing the repairs we can, but we need some of Fitz’s designs to finish things. We can also stop by a smaller base and have someone pick up some pieces. But it’s imperative that we get the old designs.”

“You’re not saying what I think you’re saying.”

“Oh, no. I don’t think we will need to break into the Bus or take our past selves hostage, the probability of that working is too low.” Simmons fidgets, drawing closer to Daisy, an apologetic look on her features. “If I remember the day correctly, you’re out of the Bus for most of the day. I remember we spent the whole night playing games, you brought this vintage version of Monopoly with you and kicked all of our asses.” 

The memory brings a smile to Daisy’s features, similar wistful expressions appearing on Coulson and May’s faces. They all seem to remember that night. 

“You told us you had gone to a bar to distract yourself and they were selling board games and a cute guy recommended this one to you. You kept talking about him, said he was very nice!” Simmons is still happy as she finishes speaking, but the same can’t be said for Daisy, who is looking down at the floor with a particularly guilty expression.

“Daisy?” Coulson gently enquiries.

Daisy’s eyes dart around the room, a blush spreading across her cheeks. 

“Agent Johnson.” Mack’s tone is also kind, but there is an authoritative undertone, reminding her that whatever she is holding back might get in the way of the mission.

“Here is the thing… I was lying. I was sad and mopey, I couldn’t hack anything because I had that annoying bracelet on my arm, so I stopped by a kids toy shop. I mean, I never had any of those toys, but I liked to imagine what it would have been like to play with them.”

“And the cute guy?”

“Made him up.”

Jemma’s expression dropped, her carefully constructed plan falling to bits. 

“I just don’t get why you added a cute guy to the story, it makes it sound less believable.” 

“I-” Daisy blushes more at Yo-Yo’s dry remark. 

“Now that you say it… A cute guy, a bar that also sells board games, Christ I was gullible back then! Why did you lie about that?”

“Think about who else was in the room when I told you that story.”

“I don’t see how it matters. We were in the lab, me, Fitz, you and…  _ Oh. _ ” 

Recognition flashes in Simmon’s eyes, everyone else catching on after that. The moon in the room shifted. Sousa felt like he was missing something crucial, whoever was in the room with them had mattered. When the silence became too oppressive, Daisy quickly explained, taking a small step away from Daniel. “I was trying to make him jealous. If backfired, he didn’t react to it at all. Which looking back, was an excellent thing. Anymore questions?”

Each member of the group mumbled a quick no.

People started to shift away, eager to get this awkward meeting over with, but Simmons still had a plan up her sleeve. “Let’s make it the truth, we won’t affect the timeline this way. Someone will meet Daisy in the toy shop and point her towards the Monopoly Game. I assume you will still lie about being in the shop and say it was a bar, right Daisy?”

“Yeah, it sounds about right. But wait, what? Do you want to send Mack in to talk to me before we even meet?” 

“No, I need Mack here to start planning for the second leg of the plan. His record is squeaky clean and everyone knows him to be a loyal agent. His sudden appearance won’t raise a lot of eyebrows.”

Everyone looked at each other awkwardly. Coulson was out of the running, Daisy already knew him and she wouldn’t lie about meeting him. Besides, he was out there (his human self at least) and there was a large chance of them running into each other. It left…

“I was actually thinking Agent Sousa would be perfect for this mission.” Simmons said with a sly smile. “We already know he is your type.” 

Elena coughed to hide her laughter.

“He will approach you and drop this device into your bag, put it in your pocket, I’m sure Agent Sousa will find the best way to implant it when the time comes. Daisy, if you could actually check the coding before we leave, just so we are sure it will be able to bypass SHIELD'S firewalls, that would be excellent.”

It took Daisy a beat to reply, cheeks still stained red. “Yeah. Sure. No problem. Hacking into SHIELD was my favorite pastime, it’s easy peasy… Uh, no offense A.C.” 

Coulson chuckled quietly. “Why can’t you do it Jemma? Pretend you decided to join Skye on her day out?” Daisy breathed a small sigh of relief -- Coulson had picked up on uncomfortableness with Sousa going on this mission.

“My hairstyle is very different, it’s been seven years, I’ve changed a lot. And we don’t want to risk the timeline any further.”

“That’s settled then.” Mack took a step towards the center of the circle, taking charge once again. “Excellent plan, Agent Simmons. Agent Sousa will find Daisy, drop the device and we will reconvene here later for the second step of our mission, I believe the best base for us to get into --”

  
  


It took Daniel ten minutes to find Daisy. The ship wasn’t that big but she had crammed on the floor besides her bed, the steady beat of her keystrokes giving her position away. She stops when he walks into the room, before resuming, hitting the keystrokes just a little harder than before.

“I could ask Deke to do this if you want, I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.” he suggests sitting down on the bed.

She scoffs, not looking up at him. “And sending Deke is your grand solution. It’s not you Daniel,” she ponders over her words before adding, “well, not entirely. The problem is mostly about me. About the person I was in 2013, I was a different person back then.”

“We all change --”

“-- I was  _ literally  _ a different person back then.” she interrupts. “Different name. I don’t know if you noticed that Coulson called me Skye in the meeting. It’s the name I lived with for almost eight years. I didn’t even have my powers yet. I had no idea who I was. Was just finding myself. I was… I was a mess really.” 

“I’m sure you were a very cute mess.” he replies easily.

Her lips twitch, but she doesn’t smile. “I’m serious.”

“So am I!” bending down, Daniel covers one of her hands in his, squeezing it lightly before letting her return to work. “You’re the most impressive person I know. Slightly terrifying really. I can’t wait to meet the version of yourself that you describe as a mess.” 

His words have the desired effect, her expression slowly softens. With a few more keystrokes, she is done. Passing him the metallic device, she closes the laptop before joining him on the bed, resting her head against his chest. “I was Skye for almost as long as I’ve been Daisy.” she turns and looks at him. “I’ll tell you that story another day.”

“I can’t wait.” kissing her forehead, he can’t help but indulge in the peaceful moment for a minute. He brushes his fingers through her long hair and holds her closer. For a group with a time machine, they rarely have time for themselves. “Okay, so. Any tips on how to get close to the younger version of you?” he asks, shooting her a crooked grin.

“It depends… I don’t suppose you got a leather jacket stashed somewhere.”

  
  
  



	2. i'd give you my sunshine, give you my best

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daniel finally gets to meet Skye and the team is the opposite of helpful.

A soft brown leather jacket that usually swallows Deke’s thin frame settles nicely on Daniel’s broad shoulders. Jemma and May adjust his hair to fit the style of the year. He firmly draws the line at Yo-Yo applying some make up to make him look younger. 

“How old were you in 2013?” he asks Daisy, slightly exasperated. 

“I think twenty five. Though… wait a second, the orphanage had actually gotten my age wrong, so I think I’m twenty three?” 

Daniel does the math on his head and then sits down. “Just don’t make me look like a fool.”

Elena has a light touch, and while they all decide not to mess with hair, they are able to shave off a few years off his face. Standing over his shoulder, Daisy glared at Mack when he suggested it, her glare hot enough to melt metal. 

She is very fond of the light dusting of white hair on his temples.

Scratch that.

She  _ loves  _ the white hair on his temples.

Last, but not least, they finally introduce him to the concept of earbuds. One of Fitz’s last gifts to them, they are modified bone conduction earbuds that are impossible to detect, and allow the other side to listen to everything that is going on.

“What do you think?” patting down the leather jacket, Daniel catches Daisy’s eye in the mirror. “Will I catch your attention?” 

Daisy inches closer to him, resting her chin on his shoulder. “Hmm, yeah. You look cute.” standing on her tiptoes, she adds in a quiet tone, only for his ears. “Just say something dorkish, you’ll be fine.” she would never admit it (but she suspects he already knows) that he has her eating at the palm of his hand when he lets his guard down and is just  _ Daniel,  _ not Agent Sousa (Chief Sousa on the other hand was a different matter); it’s the combination of his words and the stupid happy grin he uses, it hits all the right buttons. 

“Any more useful tips?” 

She shakes her head. 

Conscious of the fact the team is still lingering around the room, and he might not get the chance to kiss her goodbye, he grasps her hand and presses a kiss to her wrist.

She is quiet for a moment, mulling over something. “Just be yourself. You are…  _ very much my type _ .”

  
  


Daisy --  _ Skye _ , he reminds himself, is exactly where Daisy told him she would be. Running a hand through his hair, Daniel wonders for the seventh time if this mission is going to fail simply because he is going to get a splitting headache from focusing very hard on not accidentally slipping up and calling her Daisy.

Looking at her from the window, he  _ sees  _ Daisy, but all of her movements are wrong.

And not in a bad way. When a kid next to her does something silly, a smile reaches her lips in an instant, her laughter is loud, reaching him outside of the store. Daisy smiles, especially in the mornings when no one has stopped by to tell them something has gone wrong again. She laughs and giggles into his neck when shares an amusing tidbit from his childhood. The girl in the shop though, he realizes sadly, doesn’t look around before grinning, the weight of the world hasn’t been put on her shoulders yet.

The bell tinkles as he enters the shop. “Good morning.” he greets one of the attendants and politely tells her he is just browsing, before heading to a display that’s within Skye’s eyesight, but not close. 

_ “Was that Daisy?”  _ it takes everything in him not to jump, the phantom voice in his ear giving him a big scare. He had completely forgotten about the device.  _ “Have you gotten to the shop yet, Agent Sousa?”  _

_ “Seriously, that’s not my voice, can’t you recognize my voice?” _

Browsing, he waits until he is between two rows to respond, keeping his voice quiet as the team instructed. “I just entered the shop, she is here but I haven’t talked to her yet.”

_ “Why not? This is the future Sousa, you don’t need an invitation to approach a girl. _ ” is Yo-Yo’s helpful advice.

_ “She is not wrong. If you are too shy, she might think you are a stalker. Be polite, open but not aggressive.” _

_ “And remember to smile!” _

_ “And stay away from expressions, yours are incredibly outdated.” _

_ “Just be yourself.” _

Picking up toys as he goes, he moves closer to where Skye is talking to a young boy and his mom. Near them, he catches sight of a toy spaceship that looks remarkably like the Zephyr. It immediately starts blaring when he picks it up, blue colors shining from within, as a voice booms that ‘ _ space team delta is ready to go’.  _ Daniel fumbles for a second, the toy almost slipping from his fingers, before he grips it more tightly. 

_ “What’s going on?” _

_ “Is everything okay Agent Sousa?” _

_ “It’s a toy, guys. Even I can recognize the fake sound.” _

It’s no use, the ship continues screaming.

Looking around, he tries to catch sight of the attendant who greeted him before, holding the toy like a chicken, but it’s Daisy --  _ Skye,  _ who appears to rescue him. She grabs it and it immediately quietens.

“How did you do that?” his cluelessness is rewarded with a smile.  _ Oof,  _ it’s the same smile Daisy gives him when he says something dorkish. It’s his favorite one.

“There is a button, see?” she flips it around and on the bottom, right where he grabbed it, there is a tiny red button. She clicks on it, and the sound comes back. “Try it.”

His fingers brush against hers as he clicks on the button. It stops again. “Oh, that’s incredible!” 

“It’s a button.” 

“Not used to, uh, this sort of thing.” he says waving his arm around, at, well, everything.

_ “Tell her it’s a gift for a kid.”  _ Coulson advises in his ear.

“None of my friends had any kids, until now. I just got back from tour and I’m supposed to meet the little guy. I have no idea what to get him.” he grins. “Though, I did like that spaceship. Think it’s too much for a three year old?”

_ “That was smart.”  _

“Tour? What are you, a rockstar?” she adjusts the strap of her bag. It has a zipper but no place where he can jam the device.

“I was in Iraq.” Daisy had suggested he use the military as a background. Not only was it technically the truth, but it also explained him not knowing any recent pop culture reference. “Why, you think I look like one?” he replies, hoping  _ rockstar  _ is something cool.

_ “Easy Sousa.” _

_ “That would be ridiculous.” _

_ “Have we shown him Elvis yet?” _

_ “Be smarter about this.” _

And while he respects the team’s advice on everything about the future, he trusts his gut when it comes to Daisy. Disobeying direct orders doesn’t come easy to him, but when you are the person with the most information, you need to be able to make decisions.  _ He knows Daisy.  _

She crinkles her nose, gives him a long once over and shakes her head, eyes sparkling with amusement.

“Hmm, you got the leather jacket. But you are way too clean cut. Maybe a country singer? I could see that.” The team snickers in his ear. “But no -- I don’t think that’s a good present for a three year old.” she takes a step towards a section filled with more brightly colored toys. “Try looking over there.” she has a shy look in her eyes, unsure if her help is wanted.

Daniel smiles, and gives her a little nod. But first... “I’m still gonna get the spaceship though, it’s pretty cool. They can give it to him when he is older.”

_ “This is not what we meant with necessary expenses, Sousa.” _

_ “Wait, he’s got her. This is good, this is good. Now, what you are going to want to do is make her relax around you.” _

Well, duh.

_ “I think Skye liked bad boys around this time. Maybe be a little meaner.” _

_ “Jemma!” _

_ “Daisy liked bad boys?” _

_ “Quiet!” _

“After you.” his hand bumps into her arm. He plans on doing that a few more times before he tries to slip in the device, making her comfortable with his hand around her body. Grabbing a basket when he passes the entrance, he gently sets down the box of the toy.

“You really liked that ship, huh?”

“I’m kind of obsessed with the stars. Space exploration, time travel, you know.” the team groans in his ear, he has no idea how modern agents deal with this, having someone yapping in their ear while they are trying to concentrate on the mission. “And come on, what kid wouldn’t like that?”

Her smile is soft, a trace of longing in the curve of her lips. “Yeah, I guess. What’s his name?”

“Deke.” the name falls from his lips before he can think about twice. Deke blubbers in his ear before someone pushes him off comms. “Little Deke.” 

“Cute.” They stop at a stand for stuffed bears but he shakes his head. 

“I don’t like bears.”

“You don’t like bears?” she holds a fluffy brown one against her chest.

(It’s not as cute as her.)

“I was attacked by one once.”

“Oh yeah, really? Where?  _ Iraq?”  _

“Yellowstone Park. It stole our food.” he deadpans.

Skye shakes her head at him, laughing slightly under her breath. She puts the bear down back on the stand, giving it a little pet before moving on to the section. She grabs a few of the toys, giving him a green one to hold. It sort of resembles a man, but the figure on her hands is instantly recognizable.

“Captain America.” 

“Yeah. Is he your favorite? I used to be an Iron Man girl, but once I found out he was Stark I immediately changed my mind. The Stark industries are the worst, the things you find out about them if you dig hard enough I’m partial now to Thor, because you know…”

“You know...” he echoes back, unsure. It’s all he can say really. Captain America is still a thing in the future, great. And Stark! Is _Howard Stark_ a superhero? Wouldn’t he be like a hundred now? He is starting to feel a little overwhelmed.

“Thor is very dreamy.” she can’t keep a straight face, laughing immediately. “Plus, he seems to be very cool.” she opens her mouth to say something more but quickly closes. He pretends he doesn’t see it. 

“I guess I like this weird green man.”

_ “The Hulk.”  _ Daisy whispers in his ear.

He holds up the green man in the air, “The Hulk, he is interesting.”

“Bold choice, I like that. You don’t seem that excited about action figures, let’s see if we can find something else...” 

_ “Sousa, you need to start flirting. You need to get close to her.” _

_ “No girl finds talking about superheroes sexy.” _

_ “Wrong.” _

_ “Very wrong.”  _

“What do you think of this?” she passes him something called “ _ Lego _ ”. It seems to be some sort of puzzle, and, most importantly --

“It’s space themed.” he remarks happily, smiling down at her. 

“Because you -”

“Because I said I liked space things. I love it.”

“Look, it’s for ages three and up. And there are some sets for older kids, so if next year you are still clueless, you can just get the next set.” 

“This is perfect. Thank you, you are a lifesaver.” His fingers brush hers in a featherlight touch. 

Skye blushes and starts walking around the counter, distracting herself with a game where she pretends to be a surgeon. 

_ “Have you gotten close yet?” _

_ “Try flirting harder.” _

_ “What do you want him to do? Give her a kiss in the middle of the store?” _

_ “If that’s what’s necessary!” _

_ “She doesn’t even know him!” _

The chatter is ruining his concentration. When Mack gave him the earbud, he explained it wasn’t just for helping him, it was also for his safety. They couldn’t risk him getting stuck like he and Deke had. It’s impossible to continue like this though.

“I’ll check back in soon.” he mutters.

Pretending he is scratching his ear, he takes off his earbud.

  
  
  


Silence fills the control room. It slowly dawns on each person what happened.

Their man out of time has gone rogue.

“Did he take off his earbud?” well, it takes Deke a few more seconds. 

“I still have a signal, but I can’t hear anything. He probably put it in his jeans pocket or something.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means he is on his own.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Hope you guys liked this chapter, the final one will be posted this weekend!  
> And if you wanna try guessing who said each line in the comments... I'll have fun confirming or denying them!


	3. but i knew you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What were Simmons’s exact words -- an old version of the Monopoly game. “Wait.” Skye turns around, and the glimmer of excitement in her eyes makes his heart jump. “Board games. I wanted to look at board games. Wanna check them out with me?”
> 
> _
> 
> Daniel finishes his mission and says goodbye to Skye.

  
  


“Well, I’ve got what I need.” Daniel holds the basket up with a grin, two expenses Mack definitely did not approve. “Are you getting anything for yourself?”

“Nah, I think I’m done as well.” biting the inside of his cheek, he watches as she starts heading to the checkout area. 

What were Simmons’s exact words -- an old version of the Monopoly game. “Wait.” Skye turns around, and the glimmer of excitement in her eyes makes his heart jump. “Board games. I wanted to look at board games. Wanna check them out with me?”

“Why did you wanna look at the board games if you don’t even know any of them?”

“Because I’m tired of my friends making fun of me when I don’t know what they are talking about. Plus, they seem like fun, I thought it would be cool to have a few around for when guests come over.” she sighs at his words, tutting at him. 

“You don’t know toys, you don’t know board games. Tell me the truth, were you raised in a cult?”

“Idaho.”

“Same thing.” Skye deadpans.

The serious expression only lasts on her face for a few more seconds. Her teeth scrape her bottom lip, valiantly trying to hold back her laughter but it’s no use. She collapses against him as she laughs. The sound is infectious, and soon he is laughing too. It’s instinct that moves Daniel, circling his arm around her shoulder to hold her closer.

The fact it isn’t Daisy giggling into his chest escapes him for a second.

“Well, we played a lot of cards. Lots of Crazy Eights. Solitaire -” 

“Crazy Eights! I played that a lot in St. Agnes, I swear no one else has ever heard about it. Only Coulson and that’s because he is obsessed with World War Two.” her voice is filled with affection when she talks about Coulson, it’s fainter than it is in the future, but the bond is already there. When he finally moves away, she looks up at him for a second, chin raised. 

“And I do know  _ some  _ board games.” Leaning over, he grabs a box of Monopoly, a vintage edition, more specifically, one from the 1950’s. “I used to play a lot of Monopoly.” he boasts, offering her the game.

Skye flips the game over to read the instructions. “This is nice.”

“It’s not space themed or anything…” 

A frown flickers in her expression, and then it’s gone, replaced by a bright grin. “I think I’m going to take this one.” Daniel is going to count that one as a win for the timeline -- she is going to buy the game, take it to the plane, talk about a mysterious guy she met ( _ on a bar _ ) and play round after round with her friends. 

“You’re not going to regret it.” 

After she pays for the Monopoly game, he pretends not to notice she left her bag slightly open, just enough for him to slip the device in.  _ That’s it.  _ All he needs to do is wait for an opening and his mission will be complete.

He doesn’t want to leave.

Standing outside of the shop, their diverging paths are now clear. She is going to head back to the Bus, back to her team and continue the timeline. And Daniel will go back to the Zephyr, back to where Skye is Daisy and things make even less sense.

First though, he still needs to slip in the device into her bag. 

All he needs to do is get close to her. 

“I should go. My boss is going to be wondering where I am.” Arm crossed over her chest, there is something unusually small about her. Sure, she doesn’t hold herself like Daisy -- she is louder and yet takes up such less space, but she seems wary. 

It slowly hits him slowly -- she doesn’t want to leave. He knows that glimmer in her eyes, has caught it several times at night, as the team splits up to head back to their bunks, marking one less day she will have with them. 

_ (He knows she is not sure about the veracity of Enoch’s last words, but she is not letting time slip her by.) _

Heat coils in his chest. Skye is not the only one who doesn’t want to leave. Daniel has enjoyed her company, getting the chance to meet this version of Daisy. He loves her, even this part she described as a mess. 

“Yeah, mine is going to be yelling at me when I get back.” whatever punishment or repriment Mack has in store for him will be worth it. “We all have to break the rules sometimes, right?”

Skye laughs, holding a hand over her mouth. “I’m sorry, I can’t imagine you breaking rules. You just have this boy scout aura…”

“I’ll have you know they called my scout troop ‘ _ the troublemakers’,  _ we were kinda the bad boys of the boy scouts.” 

Silky brown hair dances around her shoulders as she shakes her head, still laughing at him. “Of course you were.”

“We got into some scrapes!”

“I’m sure you did, you were regular little devils.”

There are several ways he could have slipped in the device into her bag, after all, he didn’t earn his reputation for anything, he had some tricks up his sleeve. But he was also Daniel Sousa, and when Daisy Johnson, regardless of the name she is using, smiles at him like that, he has no choice but to lean down and kiss her.

Grabbing the device from his pocket, he quickly inserted it into her bag, before raising his hand to cradle her cheek, softly caressing the skin there. Daniel kissed her slowly, committing everything to memory; her taste, her smell, the way she nibbled his lower lip to deepen the kiss. 

Awareness, though, tugged at the back of his mind, unwilling to let him lose himself in this moment.

Pulling back, he stops just shy of her lips. “Would a boy scout do that?” he nudged her nose with his , earning himself another big laugh.

“Nope, but one would definitely say that.” Skye tugs him by the hair drawing him into another kiss. He has a brief thought about his suspenders, he is sure she would like them as much as Daisy does. 

They fight for control of the kiss, her lips are soft, pliant, coaxing him to open his mouth and lose himself into her; his kisses are slower, more controlled, he pulls back to press kisses at the corner of her lips and cheek but she captures his mouth before he can pull away.

It’s hard not to let the world slip away, but Daniel is able to gain the upper hand, taming the kiss into something softer and sweeter.

It’s a brief victory.

When he starts to draw back, Skye whines softly, lips chasing after his. When she can’t catch him, her eyes flutter open, lips curling in a pout. The sight leaves him helpless, thoughts of slowing down slip away from his mind and he kisses her pout away with a fiery kiss.

It’s familiar and foreign at the same time. Skye makes the same delightful little noises in the back of her throat,  _ is as demanding as ever _ , and he swears he could stand here and kiss her for the rest of time.

“Excuse me.” it takes the poor shop girl two more tries to catch their attention. “Could you please move, you are standing in front of a toy store.”

Daniel lingers for one more second, breathing her in. Resting his hand on Skye’s back, he smiles apologetically at the shop girl. “We apologize, we got uh, a little carried away.” cheeks tinted pink, he bobs his head before guiding her away from the storefront. She buries her head on the crook of his neck, trying to swallow her laughter. 

“Oh, that was terrible!” she seems utterly delighted by the whole thing, grabbing his hand firmly as they start walking down the street. “I can never go back there!”

And he can’t stay here.

Stopping, he uses their joined hands to tug her, catching her as she falls across his chest. “Hi.”

“Hi.” he kisses her again, knowing it’s going to be the last time. “My name is Daniel.”

“Skye.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Skye.” he has a team to get back to -- a Daisy to get back to. “But I-”

“Me too.” It's hard to let her go, not to grab her hand again and tell her to stop, to leave SHIELD before she loses the spark that seems to fill every cell in her being, to warn her about all the regrets Daisy has, to change the future and make sure she is happier, even if this means she won’t meet him. Instead, when Skye drops his hand and starts walking backwards, Daniel clenches his fists and smiles at her. 

“Thank you for the help!” he shouts. 

“Anytime!” And she is gone.

  
  


Uncurling his fist, it takes him a second to gather his breath, put his emotions in check before he can put the earbud back in. He knows he shouldn’t have done… well, pretty much everything he just did, but he can’t find it in himself to regret a second of it. 

“Agent Sousa to Zephyr.” 

“We were beginning to get worried, Agent Sousa.” Mack’s voice isn’t angry, but it’s disturbingly neutral.

“The device is in her bag, you will get the information you need soon.” 

There is silence on the other hand, he starts heading back.

  
  


He crosses through a park on the way back, watching as children run around and yell without a care in the world, their parents shivering in the benches watching them. It’s nice, a scene identical from his childhood, some things never change.

Daniel thinks about Skye, about Hydra and the future he was ripped away from. He understands he was going to die anyway, that his death was etched into the history books, but could he have made a difference if he had survived that day? Or was his death inevitable? If they had left him in the fifties, would it only have been a matter of time before someone pulled the trigger?

Burying his hands in his pockets, he circles around the Zephyr, needing a few more moments to collect his thoughts.

  
  


Mack and Coulson are waiting for him in the hanger.

“Has Simmons accessed the files yet?”

“Just now. She is downloading the necessary schematics and we’re taking off to our next location to get the parts we need.” there is only a second for him to bask in the feeling of a mission well done before Mack clears his throat. “We were just waiting for you to come back.”

_ Oh, yes. _ He disobeyed a direct order. 

Sometimes he misses being chief, it was simpler. 

“Do you care to explain your actions during this mission? We had no way of communicating with you,  _ we agreed  _ about the importance of having us advising you. You are still catching up with time. And if something had happened we wouldn’t know about it until you failed to show you back here.”

The possibility of him being stranded here also lingers in the air, the incident with Deke and Mack still heavy on everyone’s minds. 

“I know, I know. The truth is, sir, that I could not concentrate on the mission. The constant talking in my ear. It was distracting. I didn’t think I would be able to fulfill the mission continuing in that manner.” He really has no idea how agents from the future deal with this. Still, he has nothing but respect and admiration for Mack and his leadership skills. “I apologize. I wanted the mission to be successful.. I will try harder next time to deal with all the talking.”

“Did everything go smoothly?”

“Yes, I didn’t encounter any problems. She was already there when I got to the store, we talked for a while, I paid for the gifts and I slipped the device into her bag as we were saying goodbye.”

“So there was no reason for you to make a unilateral decision, severing your connection with the team?”

Daniel blinked. He had sort of walked into that one. “Yes, but… once again, I am not used to having people talk in my ear. I was worried my distraction would compromise the mission.”

“To be fair --” Coulson starts.

“No, I know what you are going to say. And, I agree, we were talking an unusual amount this time. It’s not common for there to be so many people on the other side. We let our agents choose the path. It was just an unusual situation…” 

Daisy scoffs, making her presence known, elbowing Mack on the ribs. “You guys were having fun! You were, you were taking bets on the whole thing.”

Mack pretends not to notice her interruption. 

“We will get you used to it eventually. And in truth, I was also using this opportunity to test your abilities to be part of a team.” Mack smiles wryly. “Despite your disobedience, you handled criticism well, and your approach was the correct one. I could not ask for a better agent.” he stops for a second. “ _ But _ we have a time honored tradition here at SHIELD when someone does something wrong.” his smile widened as he gave Sousa a tablet. “Inventory.”

“Sir?” Daniel had been expecting a bigger punishment, maybe a demotion, definetly a bigger talking to. 

“You did good work, and we were blowing off steam after some of the most taxing weeks of our lives. Let’s all move on. Well -- except you, you need to go do inventory. I also expect a written report on my desk tomorrow morning.” The order given, Mack started to head out, drawing Coulson into a discussion about the SHIELD base they would be visiting and the agents they knew would be there.

“Wait!” holding the bag, he offered it to Coulson. “I gave the Lego to a few kids playing in the park, but I kept the toy plane. It kinda looks like the Zephyr, I thought you guys would get a kick out of it.” 

“Deke will be disappointed you gave his gift away.” Coulson taps his fingers against the box, lifting his eyes to glare at Mack accusingly. “You know, last time someone gave me a toy like this, it ended up being a trap.” 

Mack raises his arms defensively, shaking his head at Coulson. “Hey, hey. You gotta admit, you were acting suspicious, man. I was following orders.” 

“Hmm, acting suspicious. Tell me,  _ Director.  _ Been acting suspicious lately now that you got my --” They start ribbing each other, all grievances from the event clearly gone, their conversation about SHIELD bases forgotten as they start heading back to the Control Room to show everyone else their new toy.

Which left him alone with…

_ Daisy. _

Meeting Skye had been wonderful, but he was glad to be back with the version he knew.

The version who was looking at him with an awful lot of suspicion. 

_ Oh, this might be fun.  _

“Everything go okay here?” he asked, closing the hanger door, before heading in the direction of the storage room.

“You took an awful lot of time.” falling into step behind him, she peered up at him between her eyelashes. “Don’t blame you, I was already an excellent agent.”

Daniel hummed, scrolling through the tablet, trying to keep his expression clear. He was going to tell her, of course. In the next few minutes, probably. But, he wasn’t going to just blurt it out, he needed to wait for the correct moment in the conversation.

“Everything went smoothly? No problems? Nothing you left out from your report to Mack? You were pretty stingy with details.” she circled around him when they got to the door. She had been waiting all day for answers. She didn’t worry when the line went silent, having complete faith that he could himself. But she couldn’t stop thinking about what her younger self was doing -- 2013 was a year of questionable choices for her. Letting herself be taken by SHIELD, Miles, Ward, so much plaid. 

“What? You think I got some embarrassing gossip about your past self?” 

“No! Well… I don’t know! I have no memory of this meeting, I have no idea what happened! It’s  _ weird _ .” 

“Do you usually blurt out embarrassing pieces of information about yourself to strangers:”

“No…” she sighed, trying hard to tame her impatience.

“Then you got nothing to worry about.”

“Sousa.” she sighed. “What did you guys talk about?”

“This and that, I pushed her towards the monopoly game, I told her about the incident with the bear, but it was mostly about the games in the store.” It felt like something more, and perhaps later he would be able to fully explain what happened to Daisy, but in the end, he and Skye were still strangers (just very well acquainted with each other’s tonsils). “It was all very superficial. And you guys actually heard most of our conversation.” Daniel shrugged, opening the storage door. “Why?”

“I don’t know. I just had the feeling you were leaving something out.” Oh, just a  _ little  _ something, nothing  _ major.  _ “Well… what did you think of Skye?”

“I liked her. I really liked her. She is you, of course I’d like her.” There is no universe, no version of her, that he won’t immediately be drawn to.

“Oh, okay.” his words seem to settle her somewhat. “I should leave you to it. We take inventory very seriously in the future.” she takes a deep breath, moves to leave but tries again. “You are one hundred percent sure you didn’t leave anything out?”

_ Bingo. _

Daniel slowly leans forward, relishing in the moment, cupping her cheek just like he did with Skye, thumb gently caressing the apple of her cheek. “Yes, you’re right. I did forget to mention something.” pressing a kiss to the corner of her lips, he smirks as he watches her eye flutter close. “I’m now not the only one who doesn’t remember our first kiss.”

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HI SO. okay, this fic came to me one day at the subway and I had the last line ready and that was it. I always wanted something with Daniel and Skye, and the chance to play around with their first kiss was just too good.  
> I hope you all enjoyed it!


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